Short Interest in PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) Grows By 61.6%

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,266,499 shares, a growth of 61.6% from the January 29th total of 783,952 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 642,409 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 642,409 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PRA Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PRA Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in PRA Group by 301.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,264 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in PRA Group by 145.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 146.8% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

PRA Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PRA Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results materially beat estimates — EPS $1.46 vs. consensus ~$0.50 and revenue $333.4M vs. ~$288.9M; cash collections rose ~13.6% and portfolio income improved, giving near‑term earnings and cashflow credibility. PRA Group Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong Portfolio Income
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted record cash collections and a strategic push on IT (automation/analytics) and selective buying that could boost margin and future collections conversion if execution holds. PRA Group Inc (PRAA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary views the quarter as a constructive step but emphasizes this is an early stage of recovery; slide deck and call materials provide more detail for modeling assumptions. MarketBeat Q4 materials and call
• Negative Sentiment: PRAA still lags peer Encore Capital on portfolio yields and collections efficiency — analysts warn sustained stock upside requires improved acquisition execution, better collections yields and margin recovery. PRA Group: A Better Quarter Is Welcome, But A Lot Of Work Remains
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~61.6% in February (to ~1.27M shares, ~3.3% of float), a potential source of selling pressure or volatility if execution doubts persist. (Short-interest data reflected mid‑Feb positions.)

PRA Group Stock Up 24.3%

PRA Group stock traded up $3.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.75. 2,627,028 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 580,203. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $614.41 million, a P/E ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 1.29. PRA Group has a fifty-two week low of $10.25 and a fifty-two week high of $22.01.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.96. The company had revenue of $333.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.86 million. PRA Group had a positive return on equity of 10.11% and a negative net margin of 25.39%. Research analysts expect that PRA Group will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PRAA shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of PRA Group from $33.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup lowered shares of PRA Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp downgraded PRA Group from a “market outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PRA Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

PRA Group Company Profile

PRA Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company focused on the acquisition and management of nonperforming loans. Founded in 1996 as Portfolio Recovery Associates, the company purchases defaulted consumer and commercial receivables at discounted rates from financial institutions, utilities and other creditors. By combining rigorous analytics with a consumer-centric ethos, PRA Group seeks to maximize recoveries while maintaining respectful and compliant interactions with debtors.

The company’s core activities include first-party and third-party collections across a range of asset classes such as credit cards, auto loans and utility receivables.